Indigestion is a term used to describe the condition caused by food remaining in the stomach over Nature's time-limit. In such cases there is usually a lack of hydrochloric acid. This disorder is sometimes called hyperchlorhydria. The expression of indigestion, which is a lack of acid, and the expression superacidity or hyperchlorhydria, which is too much acid, are often confusing, inasmuch as both conditions cause a feeling of heaviness or a lump in the stomach. (See "Superacidity, p. 419.)

Subacidity - The Cause

The most prolific cause of subacidity is sedentary habits or lack of activity. This is especially true of young people, while in adults, or those who have passed forty, the usual cause is incorrect eating, or an unbalanced diet.

Another cause of subacidity is the overconsumption of flesh foods. Flesh requires considerable acid for dissolution; sometimes more than is normally supplied by the stomach, and consequently results in indigestion or non-dissolution.

The over-consumption of either starchy foods or sweets may produce the same result. It is therefore obvious that this particular disorder is caused primarily either by overeating or by an unbalanced dietary.

Subacidity - The Symptoms

1 Brown Coating On The Tongue

The white coating on the tongue always indicates too much acid, hence predigestion; while the brown coating indicates insufficient acid, hence indigestion. The white coating shows the action of the acid on the stomach lining, while the brown coating shows the decomposition of food matter in the stomach, usually accompanied by an offensive breath.

2 Gas In The Stomach

Gas sometimes appears in the stomach immediately after eating. This shows that food, in a state of fermentation, remains in the stomach from a previous meal. It also shows that the stomach may be prolapsed; that is, dropped down below its normal level. A sort of pocket is thus frequently formed in which a small quantity of food remains from one meal to another, causing an immediate formation of gas after eating.

Subacidity - The Remedy

The logical remedy is to limit the amount of food to the actual requirements of the body, and especially to balance the daily bill of fare in conformity to the chemistry of nutrition.

In cases of chronic indigestion or impoverished acid secretions, it often becomes necessary to prescribe a counteractive diet, the composition of which should be determined by the cause of the disorder. If the cause be over-consumption of meat, the patient should be given a breakfast of acid fruits, and nuts and salads; while if the cause be over-consumption of starchy foods, all legumes and grain products of every kind should be omitted, and a diet of subacid fruits, an abundance of green salads, and even some flesh now and then, such as tender fish or fowl, should be prescribed.

Diet in cases of subacidity.

In all cases the special object should be to prescribe an amount of food for the first few days somewhat below the normal requirements of the body, and after the counteractive diet has been taken for three or four days, the menu should be balanced daily as to nutritive elements. By observance of these rules, together with a reasonable observance of the laws of exercise, fresh air and deep breathing, the most obstinate cases of indigestion or subacidity can be overcome.

In Cases Of Subacidity, Omit

Cereals

Coffee and tea Flesh foods Liquors Sweets Tobacco White bread

Eat

All acid fruits with meals Buttermilk Fish

Fresh vegetables Potatoes

Sautern wine, sparingly-Succulent plants Tea

Tomatoes Wheat bran Whole wheat

See "Diet in cases of subacidity," p. 464.